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Well, I worked for Spheris for three years ...

Posted By: sm on 2007-12-06
In Reply to: Opinion on Spheris - Kristina

Speaking of Spheris from the perspective of a past employee, I wasn't impressed at all with the company in its role as my employer. The best that I can describe their corporate mentality is that of a sweatshop -- low wages; poor, disorganized, unresponsive, and often inexperienced management; woefully inadequate benefits; and only minimally helpful QA.

However, if you're asking about the quality of transcription, I found that for the most part my colleagues were very quality oriented, most very experienced. Despite a lack of validation on all fronts, i.e. pay, appreciation, etc., they took pride in their work and put out quality documents.

I hope this helps.


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i worked for spheris 4 years sm
i worked in radiology part of spheris.  i had a great supervisor.  the pay is ok.  my problem was no raises, or if they don't want to give raises, at least acknowledge people some how.  there were a lot of times when we had to help cover while people were out sick or hurricane katrina stuff.  i had been there 4 years and never a raise.  (no one got raises).  another big issue for me was they send work to india.  i don't like that at all. that's one reason why i quit.  i now work for a company as an IC and they don't send their work overseas.  they are much more personable.  i worked for Spheris when it was edix, and i liked it much better when it was edix. 
I worked for Spheris for 4 years
They expect you to keep your required linecount weekly, pay on time, pay is on low side, they offshore, insurance is not good, supervisors and QA are good. Overall they are decent.
Worked for Spheris a couple of years ago
I worked for Spheris and would not recommend it to anyone who wants the least bit of flexibility in their schedule. You are expected to punch in and out to the minute on an online timeclock according to a very strict preset schedule. You aren't allowed to deviate from it without jumping through hoops and getting time off approved or adjusting your schedule, and you can't ask earlier than 2 weeks before the date you want changed. Kinda puts a damper on making vacation plans that may never be approved. I prefer a more open 12-hour window to work my 8 hours in, with no one keeping electronic tabs on my 24/7. I'll bet the FBI knows less about what their employees are doing on a minute-by-minute basis. I do have to say that their platform is pretty awesome, though. Wish the company I'm at now had it.
I also know Spheris would fire you if they knew you worked for MQ. That is a BIG NO with Spheris!
nm
I worked for a temp agency for 3 years..LOVED it. Just worked. No counts, no hassels, GREAT pay..
No benefits at the time.  I even learned pathology while temping (8 months on that assigment).  I loved the variety, the ability to say I'm not available such and such time.  I'd do it again in a heartbeat if I didn't need benefits.
I worked on site for many years. I've been doing this for 10 years... sm
I've worked on site, at home, for small MTSOs, for nationals, for hospitals. I've been paid per line, per minute, and per hour. I've been an MT and a QA. I have ALWAYS worked weekends and ALWAYS worked nights for the shift differential because MTs can't survive on 6 or 7 cents a line. At least I can't and I type 105 wpm.

I've BEEN dedicated from day 1, sister, so you are barking up the wrong tree.
Over 4 years with Spheris. NM
..
I worked for Spheris...
It was a positive experience for me. I never had a problem with being called if I stepped away from my desk, guess it just depends on which supervisor you get? I only quit because working a FT job in addition to Spheris as PT became too much.
I have not worked for Spheris
Just by reading the archives, it doesn't seem that Spheris is any better than Q.  I would have to say that Transcend is better than the Q in my experience.  There were times we ran out of work but not as bad as Q. 
when I worked for Spheris
Went through this with Spheris, and sooner rather than later we had to punch a virtual timeclock, then it seemed that suddenly there weren't enough lines to fulfill our line count and requests to work overtime to make up for lost lines were denied, so there went all incentives/benefits. 
yes, at Spheris, for 4 years now, 80+ reports
nm
Because I do not have the 5 years they require for rad. Spheris
took me on with 1 year experience and now I have 3-1/2 years total. I am thinking of applying anyway to see what they would say, especially because they know that my SIL trained me.
I made in the low 50s at Spheris 4 years ago.
Yes, you can.



Spheris - worked there recently
I worked there for 3 years, left in July. I made good money there, but I've heard that they are starting people out at a lower cpl now than they did 3 years ago. I thought they were basically fine to work for until they started switching all their accounts to ASR. When my account was getting ready to switch, I gave my notice,as I don't think you can make any money doing ASR. Insurance expensive,schedules vary, icentive pay was decent, but think that is being eliminated with new platform/ASR. In my opinion they are not such a good place to work anymore, unless you don't mind doing ASR for a pittance. Overall they were fair to me, but not very much communication with employees.
when I worked at Edix ... (now spheris) (sm)

when they were trying to get more hospital accounts within a system, they would promise them the moon and assign an absurd number of MT's to my accounts ... so that I got virtually NO work on my regular accounts and had to ask for more accounts -- which became time consuming and more importantly NERVE WRACKING to work on so many relatively new accounts all at once -- again -- some of which I got very little work on .... (very different from really learning one or two accts, adding another -- learning that -- then adding another -- truly I was a wreck -- oh and my line count truly sucked -- so when I saw there was an opening at a local MTSO, I lept ... I was stressed out and making no money ... and I had been on these teaching hospital accounts (my favorite) for over 5 years ... sad)


That's what the message above about accounts up for renewal (as in contracts) meant ... in my case, Edix hoped to get more hospitals in this national chain (most national hospital chains, I think, use more than one service so that if something happens they aren't completely left in a lurch) -- at the time I left probably almost 10 years ago, Edix also had a VERY unstable platform that was down a great deal ... trust me -- it was hell


DUH, I worked for Healthscribe before it became part of Spheris.nm

Then why leave? I've worked for Spheris
I would let them keep their $500!
If you ever worked for Spheris, you are classified as insane.
!
Having worked for Spheris before, I'd vote for Webmedx.
I tried to get on with them, but I was working three part-time IC jobs at the time so I couldn't get their test files completed on time.  I got maybe two hours of sleep three nights in a row because I had so much work dumped on me.  Blown chance!  I wish I'd blown off the IC jobs and finished the test instead.  The test reports were easy enough for me to do.  I asked for an extension on the test due date, but never heard back from them.  I understand their need for TAT, but they have to realize that it's tough to squeeze testing into an already overloaded schedule.  I'd much rather work one steady job than three IC contracts.
A friend of mine worked for Spheris
and she said they really sc***ed her.
Taking the steps to leave Spheris - 10 years!
 
I left EDiX/Spheris after 8 years there to come to Webmedx. SM
I moved over here in 2003 because I knew the recruiter and she told me it was a great place to work. She was right. The benefits are fair, the work plentiful, the bosses fantastic, and the QA staff wonderful. Good luck!
Anyone willing to give range of pay rates for Spheris with 20 plus years exp?
I know their insurance is crappy, looking for wages and work.
I worked for Spheris for quite a while. Honest answers inside. sm

Their rate of pay is pretty average, compared to other companies. They way they count their lines is fair and honest, no matter what you might hear from others. Depending on who your supervisor is, the schedules are somewhat flexible. Some supervisors are pretty lenient with the schedule, and others are very rigid. Overall, the people there are pretty nice. If you're just basically looking for a company where you can go in, get your lines done, and walk away, they're probably a good fit for you.


But there are definitely bad points, also. There's not much in the way of feeling like part of a team. You pretty much feel like just another number to them. If don't give them what they want in terms of lines or overtime or whatever, you'll definitely hear about it. They love to ask for you to work extra or switch your shift to accommodate them, but they don't generally feel like paying back the favor. They're famous for turning down PTO requests for no particular reason, no matter the reason for the request.  The recruiter will promise you there's plenty of opportunities for advancement, but really there aren't. I've known gals who have worked their butts off for them for years and still haven't gotten anywhere. The only way to get a raise is to move up in levels of difficulty, and the levels that pay the most per line are the accounts that have tons of ESL's and lots of very difficult report types, with sometimes pages of really crazy account instructions that have to be followed.


In  my opinion, if you go with Spheris, you'll make the most money if you take on a medium-level account, probably with more clinic work, where there aren't so many ESL's and not so many crazy instructions, because if you can crank out the reports at 6 or 7 cents a line, you'll make more money than struggling thru accounts that pay 9 cents a line but are terrible to type.


I have worked for MDI for 2 years and I
have never gotten a raise. Production incentives????? Never. If you are looking for all the perks, you'd better look somewhere else.
Worked at OSi for over 2 years and they have never
  
I worked for them about 3 years ago
The people were real sweet, but I couldn't pay my bills.  They have a funny pay scale and it changes after 3 months.  Wish you luck.
I have worked there for 2+ years sm
and am happy with the company.  They supply your computer for free, they help with education, everyone is helpful.  There was a slow time for a few months, but it has picked up now.  MT work always has slow times from time to time.  They have hospital accounts that one can work on if one runs out of work, which they pay more for MTs that can work acute care accounts as well as CMTs.
I have worked for them for 2 years and like it.
They have multiple platforms to work on. They have some difficult accounts, but no more than any other company I have worked for. There is always work available as you have secondary accounts and they provide a list of accounts that need extra help daily. Benefits are good, pay is NEVER late, direct deposit.


I worked for them about 2 years ago as IC sm
and they were really nice people to work for. Paid on time and very flexible, too.
I worked for them a few years ago.

I got my feet wet working for them, and I gained some valuable experience.  However, I found that they constantly sent updated notes/templates on how their docs wanted files formatted.  This got to be very time consuming after a while as this seemed to be a weekly occurence.  Of course, that was a few year ago, so they might have come up with a better system.  I also found their pay to be on the low end, and their raises, which you had to put in for, weren't all that great.


 


I worked for them 3-4 years ago and they were
very, very nice. At the time, it was strictly IC status. Don't know what they pay now but I got 7 cents a line. They had radiology, acute care, ER, clinic notes and cardiology. Pay was always on time. Platform was nice, all done over the internet, use your own PC. Never had problems and tech support was great. I would have stayed but needed fulltime with benefits.
I worked there two years ago
And at that time they still gave you all the equipment and paid for down time if you documented it correctly.

I had an okay experience at Transolutions. The people were really nice. What they said in the other threads about receiving huge thick binders on each account is true though, and I did run out of work a few times but they paid me for it.
I worked for her years ago
and in my many years before and many years since, I have never had a worse experience. Pay was by the gross line and I got my money, but I have never known anyone to be as nasty and mean as this person was to me. This is just my experience, but IMO, you would be wise to avoid any dealings with this company.
Probably should have said, I worked for them about 4 years ago, so they may pay a little better now.
x
I think that's sad. I worked there about 2 years ago and liked it. nm
nm
I have worked there for over 3 years and I'm...
Great people to work for.  Pay is very dependable.  Work is very consistent.  Most of the time there is more work than you can handle.  My paycheck is very consistently in the same price range unless I take days off.  Great QA people.  They work with your schedule.  I honestly do not have any complaints about them.  I really like working for them.
I have worked as IC for 10 years
and never got - even with had my own hospital accounts - thing is - so many people have access to the report - who can prove what?  I also hear terribly expensive unless you get through AAMT
It has been about 5 years since I worked there so
things may be different, but account was 85 to 90% Indian dictators and I had to re-record.  Poor dictators and poor quality dictation is a horrible combination.  I can't remember what the pay rate was, but it wasn't near enough.   They would also call me up to 6 times a day, sometimes just to chat, other times they were just so disorganized it took that many calls to get all the info.   I don't remember the name of the platform, but it was not user friendly at all.  I worked there less than a month I think. 
I worked for them years ago and it took several..sm
phone calls to get my first paycheck.  Needless to say, I immediately quit.  I don't know if they are different now or not but I would be cautious.
I worked for them but it was probably 5 years ago.

At that time I had to re-record work.   The account was about 95% ESL dictators from India (this is what I was told by the company).  So rerecording and Indian dictators make for not very good dictation.  Their platform was extremely time-consuming and not at all user friendly.  I can't remember the pay, but it wasn't enough.   The office would also call me up to 6 times a day because they were so disorganized they couldn't think to ask me everything in one call.  They sometimes called just to chat.  I had only worked a short time and had no relationship with these people, yet they called to chat.  The woman I dealt with sounded very blonde. 


Things may have changed since then.   They advertise for new positions a few times a year and I don't know if that means they retain most of their MTs or possibly have lost accounts, or their hiring for new accounts. 


 


I worked for them 4 years ago
and not sure if I was just very inexperienced at that time or what but I felt the work was tough - never had the same doc twice and heavy ESLs... don't remember the system being cumbersum (sp) or the C-phone stuff - and I always had skads of telephone lines so not sure about that either
I have worked for them for 5 years....
I never experienced a problem with being paid on time.  Direct deposit, is always there on the day expected, sometimes the day before.  Benefits are nice, plenty of work.  I enjoy the atmosphere.  Management accessible to the top.  A very comfortable place to work...not the usual *corporate* atmosphere.  I had plenty enough of that before coming to Breitner.  Like I said, very comfortable place to work.  I don't dread turning on the computer in the morning, and that means a LOT nowadays. 
I also worked there for several years. sm
It was an excellent place to work, but you do have to learn the account. QA is very good, they will not accept sloppiness. I felt it was one of the best companies I have worked for; I learned enough to do editing for another company, which is why I left. It was a very good experience.
When I worked there about 3 years ago, they were in .
nm
I worked for them for a few years...sm
You are welcome to e-mail if you have any questions.
I worked for them several years ago as IC sm
don't think they offer employee status, they paid on time, checks never bounced and always had work and were very nice people to work for. Tech support was very good, they had internet-based platform. Back then they paid 7 cents per line and had both fulltime and parttime status, don't know about their pay now. I would go back if I could.
Worked there for over 2 years...
They've had a lot of turnover recently, both of in-house employees and at-home transcriptionists. Basically the only reason I stayed as long as I did was because the scheduling department was flexible, and their PTO was decent. However, with the new payscale, I was making considerably less money and felt that was very unfair. As far as their DOS system, the system is very simple and generally speaking trouble free. However, loading demographics and downloading work was very time consuming (and unpaid). QA policy stunk too. They were very inconsistent in checking your work, and I feel that as long as someone is working hard and doing a good job, they should NOT be docked for errors. They call it a QA bonus...I call it a way to lead people on and pay them less than what they're worth! I left Transolutions a couple of months ago and have never looked back. I love where I'm at now and feel that I'm being treated fairly again. I'm sure it's a good fit for some people, and everyone has to find their place. For me, it was becoming more hassle than it was worth and was time to move on.
I have worked for DSG for 4 years...
and the only time I have had a problem with low work volume is during the holidays when people/docs are on vacation. From reading this board, this is a problem with a lot of companies, not just DSG. DSG has been my income for 4 years with no backup job and I have been fine.
I worked for MQ for 12 years and always had a
second job as an IC. They did not interfere with each other and no one ever asked. Of course, I did not use MQ computer, but my own. As far as I am concerned it is no one's business but your own.
How many years have you worked for them?
x